And Call Me in the Morning
by a passerby
Summary: Time skip app. 10 yrs. Sakura discovers a mysterious ailment that is unleashed on Konoha, just after Sasuke and Team 7 stumble upon intruders and a kidnapping plot. Konoha's foundation is shaken! Can Sakura save the village, or does she need to be saved?
1. A Little Souvenir

**. . .and Call Me in the Morning: Ch. 1  
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_A/N: Naruto characters and themes are not my property, and I do not profit from any likenesses._

**Plot**: A time-skip setting for Konoha. The Rookie 9 are young adults in their early- to mid-20's. Pein has not attacked Konoha. Madara is not in the picture. Itachi has not slaughtered his family. Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha, Sasuke and Itachi's parents and the head family of the Uchiha clan, live a retired life at the Uchiha compound. Sasuke has an apartment like the other young shinobi, though he and Itachi both spend a lot of time at the Uchiha compound. Sasuke did turn out to be a little cold and callous, because he only lived in his brother's shadow and always seemed to be a step behind him. His mother supported him, though his relationship with his father is somewhat strained due to the opinion that he lagged behind Itachi's set standards. Itachi just happens to be the leader of the Konoha Police Force, but he is not trying to live up to his father's expectations. Itachi is indifferent of his father, but holds a great amount of love for his mother and little brother. Sai was added to Team 7 when he was younger, though he was added only as an addition and not as a replacement for Sasuke. After Sakura decided to spend most of her time at the hospital as Tsunade's apprentice and a highly acclaimed medic-nin, the men of Team 7 joined ANBU.

The four men of the team, along with Konoha genius Shikamaru Nara, were sent on a mission to collect information on a group of unknown origin, number or diplomacy. The instructions were to gather intel and return to Konoha quickly, but an ambush just happens to halt their progress.

* * *

><p><em>"Sasuke, look out!" Naruto screamed at his teammate. The ground underneath his feet rumbled. The trees shook. The wind howled. Oh, no. That isn't the wind.<em>

_There was an explosion. Suddenly, all his surroundings were in a thickening, spinning haze, and Naruto was lost inside it. The forest was spinning. Then Sasuke's world went black._

Sasuke started coming to. He had tubes in his arms, and he was strapped to a machine. Maybe several machines. He couldn't really move yet. The lights were unbelievably bright and hurt his eyes. His head was already throbbing, the beeping and droning from the machines magnified and ringing in his ears. Everything hurt. It was getting worse, but the haziness wasn't letting up.

"Sasuke-kun."

He heard a faint voice call his name, or so he thought. It was a soft female voice. A celestial being, possibly? Was he dead?

"Sasuke-kun, go back to sleep."

He heard the voice as clear as a bell that time. He immediately knew who the voice belonged to. Sure enough, a very blurry pink-haired kunoichi came into view. He watched as she leaned over him and checked something sitting next to his bed, then raised her hand to brush sweat-soaked black bangs off his forehead. He was burning up. She knew he must be in pain.

"Sasuke-kun, just relax and rest. You'll feel much better after another long nap. We'll be waiting for you when you wake up. Just rest for now." Sakura then brought her hand back to his forehead. Sasuke could see a green glow in his peripheral vision. The throbbing instantly dulled, and his wounds, bruises and other pain went away. Sakura's fingers and gentle touch soothed him. With a calming sensation running through his veins, Sasuke drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Sasuke's eyes slowly opened. He could see clearly, thankfully. His throat was very dry. He immediately recognized a stench, and his stomach lurched at the thought. When he figured out the smell was himself, Sasuke vomited over the side of the hospital bed. 'Sponge baths or no, I smell. I can't be seen like this. I'd better not have any visitors.'<p>

As if on cue, in strolled a nurse. She was carrying a pitcher of water in one hand and a file under her arm. "Well hello there, sleepy head! How are we feeling today?"

"Woman, I just woke up. I feel like shit, like I've just been through Hell. Dammit, it would be nice if-"

The nurse, whose name tag read "Kumiko," had decided to up Sasuke's pain meds. She adjusted something on the IV. Sasuke's eyes followed the tubes from the IV as they led to his right arm. A relaxing, numb feeling washed over him. He looked like he was enjoying it. She did, too.

"You should watch your mouth, young man."

"Yeah, yeah. How long was I out?" Sasuke wiggled and fidgeted in his bed, figuring out that hard way that he didn't have much of a choice in comfortable positions when his body felt like Jell-O.

"Just a couple of days."

"When can I leave?" Sasuke tried sitting up, but his current state didn't give him much energy. The drugs really worked. His chakra was depleted, though it shouldn't be with all this rest.

"I don't know. I'm not your doctor. You'll want to speak with her. I just bring the water and toggle the controls to my liking. Don't forget that last part, young man." Sasuke could tell she had no more patience with him. Kumiko opened the file that was under her arm and took out a few sheets of paper. She then walked over to the end of the bed and added those pieces of paper to a clipboard. "You're in luck. Lady Tsunade will check you over today, since your doctor is busy at the moment. It's likely you'll be out before the end of the week, but Lady Tsunade should evaluate you and then determine your release date."

Sasuke groaned. He did not want to remain in the hospital any longer. He wanted to go home. And he didn't feel like being interviewed - or berated - by that blonde witch.

"Where's my doctor, then?" 'Who is my doctor?' Sasuke mulled over possibilities for his doctor's identity.

"She'll be right in. She has a couple of other patients to attend to, but I'm sure she'll find time to check in on you, of all the other patients. She's a high commodity. You're very lucky." Kumiko smiled, which meant she must be friends with his nurse.

Sasuke knew who his nurse could be. It had to be Sakura. His memory of the small sliver of consciousness earlier revealed pink hair. Who else could it be?

The nurse, Kumiko, walked over to the bedside table to Sasuke's right. While she was chatting away at how kind and caring his doctor (who just had to be Sakura) was, she picked up a full glass of water that Sasuke just noticed and walked to his hospital room's bathroom to pour the contents into the sink. Then she brought the glass back over to the bedside table and filled it with fresh water from the pitcher. Sasuke couldn't help but notice that Kumiko set the glass just a hair's length from his grasp, and he was no longer able to sit up and fetch it. But he wasn't about to ask for her help.

"You could ask politely for my help, you know." Kumiko seemed to be enjoying his distress a little too much.

"I'm not thirsty." He lied. His throat was very dry. He was out for a while, and he hadn't even been able to use his throat for anything. He was embarrassed that it was so hoarse. He wasn't able to give off his indifferent tone when he was struggling to form words.

"Hm. Suit yourself, young man. You nurse will be in shortly."

"Wait. Nurse?" Sasuke looked towards the door, where Kumiko was ready to walk out with the water pitcher.

"Yes?" She held a little teeny smirk, but little did he know that she expected him to ask about a certain someone.

"Could you tell me about Shikamaru Nara? I sent him back to the village just as my team was ambushed. Did he make it back?"

"I don't know. I'm not in that line of work. I'm in the hospital line of work, and I can tell you that he is not admitted to this hospital. We did receive notification that all your team members who were injured were sent here. It looks like a few were in critical condition. It must have been some battle."

'Shit. If I get another chance, I'll make those bastards pay.' "What about Naruto Uzumaki? He was in the same battle as I was. Is he alright?" Sasuke held a little bit of pleading in his eyes, since he was currently incapacitated and did want to know these bits of information.

Kumiko turned around and hovered close to the door, wrong about his person of inquiry. "Oh, him. He's fine. A few bumps and scratches, but he'll survive. But he won't shut up!"

Sasuke let a small smirk grace his lips, but it was one that represented amusement and relief. The nurse caught it.

"Is he a friend of yours? Would you like him to come visit?"

Sasuke was about to nod his head when he heard the second question from her mouth. "No! No, that won't be necessary. I'd rather have a bit of peace and quiet."

Kumiko turned around to leave, but had one more thing to say to Sasuke. "I wouldn't be counting on that if Lady Tsunade is coming." Then Kumiko turned down the hallway to continue her rounds.

Sasuke sighed a bit of relief and laid back into his pillows. He wished he could put his hands behind his head, but he lacked the energy and motor skills at the moment. So he settled for gaining a comfortable position on the pillows. As his eyes slowly drifted closed and sleep was about to claim him once again, his door slammed open. He was quite sure there was a door-shaped impression on the wall adjacent to the door frame.

"Uchiha! How fucking dare you!" In stomped one of his doctors. The blonde witch, of course.

"Ah, how nice to see you again. I'm doing quite alright now, though the almost unbearable pain and wounds underneath all these bandages are. . ."

"Don't get sarcastic with me, you little dipshit. You defied direct orders to NOT instigate battle under any circumstances. You were supposed to get in and get out before they had a chance to notice your breath on the back of their necks. What in the hell were you thinking? You are very lucky you didn't die back there. You risked the lives of other ANBU members. For what?"

Sasuke stared blankly at the Hokage in typical Uchiha fashion - indifferently. But at least she slipped in the clue he needed to know that there were no fatalities from his team. "We did not initiate any violence at all. We were ambushed."

"You're lucky Naruto was there to save your ass, or else you'd all likely be delivered back here in body bags. Or ziploc bags. Or in a mop bucket. Who the Hell knows?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her. Bad move.

Tsunade stared the little bastard down. She was here to get his report, and she would have whatever she came for. She wasn't above torture methods just to get a mission report.

"How many were there in the ambush?"

"I'm not sure, since some used clones. There were too many for me to pinpoint their signatures. At least five, but no more than eight or ten. They had nothing that indicated loyalty to a particular village. But there were enough back at the campsite to create about three more teams like the one we encountered."

"Did anyone drop clues as to what they were looking for?" Lady Tsunade walked around the side if his hospital bed, but noticed his vomit next to the floor and walked back to the other side. She'd send in a couple of lower staff members to clean that up. It held such a foul, unusual odor - something she immediately noted.

Sasuke paused while Lady Tsunade walked back and forth. Sasuke thought back to his one-on-one fight with a brawny opponent with a solid black jumpsuit. He remembered a heavy, deep voice tell him they were going to take her. _Her_.

"The enemy who immediately engaged me in one-on-one combat mentioned taking someone."

"Who?"

"I don't know. He just said he was going to take someone, a female, and insinuated that we were not going to stop them. We were not given any clue as to whom they are, unfortunately, or who their target is. I suggest a curfew for the village and heavier perimeter patrol. We could be in serious danger. These guys were on a mission."

"So were you." Tsunade's frustration and anger with the young Uchiha didn't falter, but she did notice his change in attitude. Something new. Worry. He was worried about this enemy.

"No, you don't understand." Sasuke looked down at his feet, then brought his head back up to face Lady Tsunade. His once-calm and indifferent eyes betrayed him by showing a good amount of the worry he just let slip through his report. "We weren't detected while spying on our little visitors when we traveled to their camp. My team was not technically _ambushed_, either. We were just as surprised as they were. We accidentally intercepted them as they were on their way to their target. Konoha."

Lady Tsunade turned to face the wall, not letting her own worry show through. "Well, I suppose this is rather interesting. I'll take your suggestions into consideration." Lady Tsunade walked around to the foot of his hospital bed and grabbed his charts to give them a look. "You're healing quite nicely. Sakura did a wonderful job."

"Hn. " 'Ha! I knew it!'

"What was that look about?" Lady Tsunade held an amused gleam in her eye. "Are you really that eager for Sakura to come check in on you?" She chuckled darkly. "Well, then. It's time for your physical evaluation, anyway. I'll send her in as soon as she's finished with the other rounds." Lady Tsunade then turned and left, holding the same gleam in her eyes. It looked a bit dangerous.

Sasuke's head hit the pillow hard, wishing he knew what Lady Tsunade was thinking. But he didn't think too much about it, because his relaxed body helped him drift back off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Sasuke felt something warm and gentle on his cheek. He couldn't help but press into the touch, enjoying it immensely. It was so soft and comforting.<p>

He heard a sigh, followed by a tiny giggle. Then he heard her voice again.

"Sasuke. Sasuke. Wake up for me. I need to check you over."

He didn't want to open his eyes. It all felt too good - her touch and her voice. He felt the fingers of her other hand gently brush his sweaty bangs back, grazing his forehead lightly. She was so soothing.

"Sasuke. I need to check your wounds. Open your eyes."

A little bit of alertness hit Sasuke, and he peeked through one eye to see a white lab coat. The lone eye roamed up a little more and discovered a black blouse and red pencil skirt. His eye drifted upwards until he saw her pink hair that reached just a few inches below her shoulders. He stared right into two bright jade green orbs. They looked happy to see him, and even a bit chipper. Not that he wanted to see her chipper eyes or anything. Well, he'd never admit it, at least.

"Hn."

"Oh, really? Are you arguing with me?" Sakura brought her hand down from his forehead and pinched the bridge of Sasuke's broken nose, sending huger jolts of pain shooting through his face.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Sakura, what the Hell? Dammit, that hurt like a son of a bitch!"

"Tsk, tsk. Language, mister. You wouldn't wake up, so I simply began the evaluation without you. Yep, your nose is definitely broken." Sakura scribbled notes down on her clipboard, but couldn't hide a small smirk of amusement on her face. Sasuke was able to see the resemblance between student and master with their matching deceitful, slightly malicious smirks.

"Are you being sarcastic? Really?" Sasuke grunted in annoyance and plopped his head back down on his pillow, his nose's newfound pain making his voice quite nasally.

Sakura giggled at Sasuke's new voice. "We weren't sure earlier, so we decided to let it be and see what happens with it. Your internal injuries were the first to need treatment, so that just had to wait."

Besides the new nasally voice, Sakura also took note of something not at all uncommon with many other patients, but was peculiar with an ANBU - much less with an Uchiha. Sasuke didn't bother hiding his obvious pain. No, that wasn't something monumental. But for an Uchiha to show weakness and current frailty? Sakura knew he would not show his pain in front of anyone else except for his teammates.

"Why are you smirking? Is this funny to you?" Sasuke's deep eyes bore into Sakura's gentle, sophisticated facial features. He couldn't help but look into her viridian eyes, sparkling with her usual cheerful kindness. 'How does she do it? There's no way she can be happy all the time. Well. . .I guess we know when she isn't.' The member s of Team 7 - and all the residents of Konoha - knew when Sakura tugged on her black gloves, that fist were going to fly. . .and so would anyone who stood in her way. But Sasuke didn't stop himself from comparing Sakura to his mother.

"Aw, is poor Sasuke-kun upset? Well, good news. After I regenerate some scar tissue and the nurses monitor your vitals overnight, you'll be in good health standing and can get out of here by tomorrow."

"Well, that is good news. And don't call me that." Sasuke looked away and redirected his line of sight to the window. The Konoha springtime gave the village ample sunlight, but also brought heavy rainstorms. Today, the sun shone brightly, illuminating the tile floor with an exceptionally bright shape that the window reflected onto the tile. Sasuke stared at it, wishing he could just lie in it and sunbathe. He sighed.

"What's wrong?" Sakura had to pause and look up from her scribbling to make sure her patient was doing fine.

Sasuke turned back to his pink-haired teammate and doctor. "I just. . .what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Huh?" 'Is he asking me out? This. . .this is so unexpected! I-'

"I think the team should take a trip to the lake. I'm sure the dobe's fine enough now. I can feel the foundation shaking in this place, so his energy must be right back to his normal insane level. We need to relax. I need to relax."

"Oh! Ha ha! Yeah, sure! Let me go ask him!" Sakura turned on her heel and rushed out the door. About ten feet down the hallway, she threw her back against the cold cement wall, the back of her head hit with a 'thunk.' 'What the Hell was I thinking? You're not a little girl anymore, Sakura! You're twenty-four! Get over it!'

Sakura sighed, composing herself and shaking off her personal embarrassment before continuing down the hallway. In her moment of flustered near-embarrassment, she didn't stop to realize Sasuke wanted to initiate a social outing. That in itself was extremely bizarre - for him.

* * *

><p>Less than a minute later, Sakura turned to Naruto's room to find the door locked. 'What the Hell?'<p>

"Dr. Haruno! We're sorry! We couldn't think of anything else! We barricaded the windows, like Lady Tsunade requested, but we just didn't trust him. We had to lock the door."

"Oh, I believe you. Even with his chakra drained, this blond is quite unpredictable." Sakura stood back as a young nurse moved to unlock the door. But as she stuck the key in the lock, a crash boomed on the other side.

"Oh, Lord. That was his lunch tray." The nurse slapped herself in the face, utterly exhausted from having to deal with the imbecile known as Naruto Uzumaki for the past two days.

"Don't worry, Tracy. I'll take care of him. If you could just help clean up the mess?"

"Sure." Tracy moved in again to unlock the door, this time without interruption. She braced herself and let the door crack open.

"If that witch comes back in here again, I'll be throwing a Hell of a lot more than that fucking potatoes and-"

Tracy sheepishly entered Naruto's hospital room, moving not an inch closer to the crazed blond ANBU ninja. Naruto had only met a couple of older nurses during his stay, so he was actually pretty pleased to see a very pretty young intern in a short dress.

"Well, hello, Miss. . ."

Tracy looked cautiously at Naruto. She almost giggled at his bedhead hair and disheveled clothing. He, of course, refused to wear the hospital gown. So we was wearing his own pajama bottoms and plain white t-shirt.

"I'm Miss - Nurse - Tracy."

Naruto moved closer, noticing Tracy's newer ease in his presence. He moved closer and extended his hand for a friendly handshake. "My name is - OOF!" Naruto went flying to the other side of the room and ricocheted off the wall. In the doorway stood Sakura, her arm still outstretched from her recent blow to the side of Naruto's skull.

"Dobe! What the Hell are you doing? You've ruined your lunch and made a huge mess! Now our extremely busy staff members have to stop what they're doing to clean up after you!"

Naruto was unable to answer Sakura or explain himself. Instead, he just groaned before face-planting on the cold tile.

"Thank you for the distraction, Tracy. We have a couple of hours until he comes to. Eddie!" Sakura leaned back out into the hallway. "Lucas! Can you come in here and help me return this patient to his bed?" Sakura was already pulling Naruto back to his bed, dragging his upper body by looping her arms under his armpits and backwards-slinking his disheveled ass across the floor. 'What an idiot. . .'

In walked a new male nurse named Lucas. He was tall, dark and handsome. But that didn't begin to describe him. Lucas was around Sakura's age, maybe a little older. His sun-kissed skin could glow in complete darkness. Lucas took care of himself and was in good physical condition, as many ninja in the village did. But it was not too common among civilians. His hospital scrubs didn't do him much justice, but his killer body still miraculously shone through. Whoa, mama. Lucas was approximately 6 feet tall, maybe a couple of inches over. His deep sapphire eyes sparkled in any amount of light, just like true jewels. They were an extremely good fit for Sakura's pure emerald eyes. Quite a pair. . .erm. . .pairs.

"No, Lady Sakura! Don't trouble yourself! Here, let me." Another characteristic of Lucas was his utter politeness. He killed with kindness. He just killed, regardless, because such a handsome, charismatic and polite young stud had to be a natural-born ladykiller.

Sakura stood back and watched as Lucas picked Naruto up effortlessly and slung him over his back like a sack of potatoes. Sakura huffed in amazement. Tracy didn't miss it. She walked over to Sakura and nudged her with her elbow. She spoke to Sakura in a low tone, so as not to be overheard in the small hospital room.

"So, what do you think of the new guy? Hot, right?"

"Hmph, you said it. I'd like to chisel me off a piece of those chiseled-"

"Anything else, Lady Sakura?" Just one other thing: Lucas had this incredible, dream-like smile. It was so dazzling that it felt like he put you into a trance. When his attention was fixated on you and he smiled with his dark blue eyes sparkling and aiming at you, you were pretty much sent into la-la land. And who wouldn't want to take a little vacation over there? Especially if it was with hottie Nurse Lucas.

"No, Lucas. Thank you so much. I didn't know if I had the energy left in me to deal with that idiot."

Lucas nodded his head in understanding. "Well, if we're all done here. . ." He turned to walk out the door, but Tracy spoke up.

"Wait!" Tracy froze, trying to think off the top of her head. Sakura looked on in shock, knowing when a bad plan is about to take flight. "Drinks!"

"Drinks?" Lucas looked at Tracy, obviously puzzled at the sentence fragments. Tracy wasn't making too much sense. Lucas was used to making girls so flustered, though, so he waited patiently for her to finish what she was trying to ask him.

"Yes. A few of us are going out for drinks after our shifts end today. We're heading out of here at five, and we're meeting at the bar across from old man Jiraiya's new pervert bookstore."

"That sounds nice." Lucas smiled again. Tracy almost fainted on the spot.

"What she's trying to say is that she'd like for you to join us. It is your first week, after all, and since you're not from the area. . .perhaps you'd like to get a little bit of a feel for the village and the nightlife?" 'And maybe a little bit of a feel of me?'

"Yes, of course. With you two lovely ladies, I'd go anywhere. What time?" He let another smile slip. After that flattering comment, Tracy did faint a bit. She slouched over onto Sakura's shoulder, barely able to stand up on her own.

"Oh, we'll meet each other there around 7:00. We'll probably want to get out of these uniforms. It's not really becoming to smell like medical fumes."

Lucas stepped a little bit closer. "But I like your uniform." He cleared his throat, a little surprised at his own confession. "I mean, what you're wearing looks just fine to me. I mean, you'd look great in anythin-. . .I mean, you don't way to go out of your way or anything." The tiniest hint of a blush appeared on his honey-caramel skin.

"Well, thank you, Lucas. But I always go straight home after work, anyway. I have a few things to do before I go out."

"Oh. Well, 7:00, it is. At the bar across from an adult literature store."

"On the same road as the ramen bar. You can't miss the bookstore - he's installed repulsive and vulgar neon signs that you can see from outer space. It's atrocious." Sakura shook her head in shame and disgust, but she still chuckled a little under her breath. Like anyone would expect any more from Jiraiya? Besides, Kakashi sure enjoys the new place. Maybe he enjoys it a little too much.

Lucas nodded politely and walked out to continue his duties for the day. Sakura snapped her fingers in front of Tracy's face a few times to get her to come back down to earth.

"Tracy. Tracy. Tracy!"

"Tracy. Nurse Tracy. Mm, Nurse Tracy." Naruto muttered under his breath from his own dream-like state. Sakura slapped her own forehead and sighed.

* * *

><p>Sasuke stood in front of his window, looking down onto the street below. He looked at several couple, holding hands and chattering lovingly. He saw an older couple kissing. He saw a younger, teenage couple full-on making out in an alleyway they thought would be inconspicuous. But not to a nosy, curious patient on the fourth floor of the Konoha Hospital. Sasuke grimaced in annoyance and disgust.<p>

'What would drive people to lose control of their impulses? Are they animals? Have they no self-control? That must be what love feels like. It turns you into a barbaric imbecile with no regard for decency or self-control. Love must be a weakness, then. I am not weak.'

Sasuke turned around to face the door when he heard soft footsteps. He heard a small knock on his door.

"Come in."

In walked a small, frail young nurse. She looked like she couldn't be more than fifteen. "Mr. Uchiha, sir?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, not enjoying hearing himself be addressed by the same name his father receives.

"Hn." He looked on curiously at this small nurse. She was almost unnaturally short, standing no taller that 5'2" in height. She was almost sickly thin. She couldn't weigh more than 80 pounds soaking wet. Her skin was very pale, like she didn't get out much. Her hair was a very natural-looking sandy blond, sitting maybe half an inch above her shoulders. Her ears poked out through the stringy yellow strands. She was a lot like a terrified little mouse who was staring up at a fierce lion.

"I-I. . .well, it's around 12:30 now, and. . .I was sent t-to-"

"What?" Sasuke was getting very impatient.

"L-lunch?"

Sasuke now took notice of the small piece of paper, no doubt recently printed off at a receptionist's desk. The young nurse timidly handed it over to him, and Sasuke gently took if from her loose grasp so as not to frighten her even more than she already was. Sasuke peered it over read a small, limited menu for disgusting hospital food. He placed the paper down on a nearby surface.

"No, thanks. I'm not hungry."

"B-but. . .Lady Sakura and Lady Tsunade gave s-specific orders that you sh-should eat. It will help replenish y-your chakra." The little nurse wanted to avoid eye contact if at all possible, so she instead looked on at the piece of paper on the table surface close to the hospital room's bathroom door.

"I will. Just not that garbage. I'll order out."

"O-okay. Would you like m-me to call?"

Sasuke shook his head. At least she was trying to be helpful. He felt a little sorry for her. But only a little. "No. I'll order myself when my appetite returns."

"O-okay, then." The nurse pivoted and practically stumbled out his doorway. Sasuke knew she probably dreaded helping ninja patients, especially ANBU. He could see the fear in her eyes. It had nothing to do with his family's name or the fact that he was a powerful shinobi. He saw her look in horror at the tattoo on his upper arm, peeking out from under his shirt sleeve.

The first thing Sasuke noticed when he arose from his hospital bed was that he was wearing hospital scrubs. It was most likely a luxury Sakura afforded him to keep his dignity intact. A hospital gown just wouldn't do. He will have to thank her later, since he noticed she picked out a dark blue that she must have known he would have immediately taken preference to.

'She could have tortured me and dressed me in pink bunny- wait. Did Sakura undress me herself? No way. No friggin' way. She wouldn't. . .would she?'

Sasuke shuddered. But then he had an idea. He looked to the side of his bed. He had his sandals, but no sign of his clothes. No matter, though, because Sakura made the mistake of letting him wear scrubs instead of something which would have not only outed him as an escaped patient, but would have been too humiliating and revealing to even leave the safety of his hospital room. Sasuke could pass for a doctor or nurse.

'Hell, if someone calls me a nurse. . .' Sasuke obviously still had a bit of pent-up rage in him from the ambush. And too much damnable pride.

After dipping into his hospital room's bathroom for several minutes, Sasuke decided he looked presentable enough to the outside world. He felt that his chakra was still incredibly low. He knew he'd need to ask Sakura about that later. He figured she must have somehow bound it to try to subdue him.

'Tough luck, Pinky.'

Sasuke slipped on his shoes and slid over to his window. He looked down more than 30 feet below.

'It's risky, considering my nearly depleted chakra. But I have enough to help me travel swiftly and discreetly.'

Sasuke pulled the window open entirely, getting ready to make one Hell of a jump. Luckily, Sasuke was staring down at a pretty sturdy tree that provided a bit of shade to the sidewalk down below. The hard cement sidewalk. He was not usually too concerned about such a jump, but he didn't know how well he was going to be operating in his shape. His nose was obviously still battered and bruised, though Sakura did set it back astonishingly well without him even realizing it. But some bandages still remained, possibly having something to do with more serious injuries. Sasuke took notice of the slight pain (it was pretty damn painful, but he won't even admit that to himself if he doesn't have to) in and around his chest. It was likely that was where he experienced the internal bleeding that Sakura mentioned earlier. Did one of his organs rupture? And he's already conscious and mobile in just a couple of days? Is Sakura a kick-ass doctor or some kind of a voodoo witch? Shaking unnecessary and frightening thoughts out of his head, Sasuke carefully planned his path to the street below. Everything was going to go smoothly; he just knew it. He took aim and leaped.

Sasuke knew his landing should have been much smoother than what he just experienced. He wasn't used to operating with so little chakra. It was really beginning to bug him. But without much more difficulty, Sasuke landed on the next branch down until he reached. . .a squirrel?

"Oh! Hello, you furry little bastard. If you tell Sakura I escaped, I'll throw all your acorns down in the sewer."

The frightened squirrel couldn't move once he saw Sasuke plop down on his branch. He was frozen in terror, until he possibly understood the tone of Sasuke's voice and scurried into the base of the tree.

"What the fuck kind of drugs did Sakura put me on? I'm talking to squirrels, for God's sake! I think I'd rather be talking to myself than. . .oh, wait, I am. Shit. Something's really wrong."

A little shaken up and extremely concerned for his overall well-being, mental health included, Sasuke hopped off the last branch before his feet finally met the sidewalk. He looked around for any signs of shinobi or medical personnel. There were a few, but as he strolled by, no one thought to question a guy in scrubs who happened to be walking past the hospital entrance.

Sasuke let out a little triumphant smirk, but it was barely visible only to those who knew what to look for. Sasuke trudged on to stop by his apartment and then to get himself some real food.

* * *

><p><em>Approximately 2 and a half hours later. . .<em>

"Sakura! Sakura! They're trying to kill me! Sakura, help!"

"Naruto, please! You just need a shot!"

"Like Hell I do! I know you've got a pill for that! You're just being cruel and unnecessary! Sakura! Saku-"

At that very second, the door slammed open. In walked a very furious young blonde woman.

"Where. Is. He. Tell new now, or so help me. . ."

Naruto looked incredulously at Ino. "Wha?"

Ino stomped over to him, pushing a nurse out of her way and grabbing him by the collar.

"Nurse Tracy! Are you okay?" Naruto looked past Ino to see Tracy picking herself off the floor.

"I-I'm fine, Naruto. Thank you." Tracy stood back , not wanting to be further involved. Naruto turned his attention back to the demon who was partially choking him with his own shirt collar.

"Naruto! Where is my Shika, you son of a bitch!"

Naruto's eyes widened. "What? You mean he isn't back yet?"

Ino let go of his shirt collar. Naruto slumped back into his pillows, grateful for the fresh air rushing into his lungs.

Ino's tone changed. She was still furious, but also extremely saddened and worried.

"No one has heard from him, and he isn't here in the hospital. No one was found dead, but he hasn't been found. Where is he?"

Naruto looked up to see tears brimming, her eyelashes batting them away.

"He wasn't with us. We sent him back alone right as we were ambushed. He got out clean. Old Lady must know where he is. Or your old man, if you catch my drift. Shikamaru had a lot of pretty important infor. . .mation." Naruto trailed off as he watched Ino fly out of his hospital room. She was most likely heading towards the Hokage's Tower.

"She didn't even offer an apology to us, Nurse Tracy. How rude." Naruto grinned a little, hoping to elicit a pleasant reaction from Tracy. She politely nodded and walked closer to Naruto. She patted his hand with her left hand. She then reached with her right hand to move for his pillows, pretending to fluff them for him.

"Are you comfortable enough, Naruto?"

"Yes, Nurse Tracy. If only you would-" Naruto's eyes flew wide open. "Ahhhhhhhh! Nurse Tracy! How could you?" Fake tears loomed on Naruto's face as he wailed in pretend-pain. Tracy was one smart nurse. In her free hand she held the needle with Naruto's antibiotics. Tracy chuckled sweetly, but held a devious smirk firmly.

* * *

><p>Sakura walked down the hallway on the fourth floor, once huffed, dreading checking in on Sasuke again. He would fuss and fight, and tell her how much he hates being here. He would undoubtedly call her weak and conclude that there must be a more capable doctor to care for him than a weak and useless twit. Then he would demand that he be allowed to leave at once. He'd be certain he has better things to do than heal.<p>

The recently rebuilt Konoha Hospital was a beautiful white building with state-of-the-art equipment to fit any medical needs. The top floors held mostly offices and a couple of conference rooms, and lower and lower sees seemingly endless aisles of clinic rooms and specialized sections. Sakura help raise funding from other villages, but the kicker was plenty of funding came from other countries. It seems that the expert medical knowledge of Konoha's top medical shinobi is coveted in more than one village. News and tales of Lady Tsunade's expertise and knowledge was obvious, but reports of an incredibly talented - and beautiful - young kunoichi had begun to surface, reaching just as far as the other reports had traveled. Her medical talents, incredible healing capabilities and unbelievable strength - a beauty who can move mountains with iron fists - are only matched by her immense beauty. She is slender but curvy, a well-built fighter with the killer body to prove her strenuous activities. She has a smile that could make any enemy stop in his tracks. Her facial features are radiant. Her ivory skin glows like a firefly's light. And her rosette locks give way to many believing that the name Sakura is merely a nickname given to the tall tale. She must be a myth. No one so beautiful, strong and talented could ever exist. But above all, no tale left out how caring and kind the kunoichi is to her patients, never thinking to heal herself before her comrades are well cared for. She ensures everyone's well-being and considers it her first priority, and works tirelessly for no benefit to herself, except maybe to her karma.

Sakura was only two hospital rooms down from Sasuke's when she saw Tracy turn the corner to face her.

"Tracy! There you are! Did Naruto get his antibiotics?"

Tracy beamed instantly. "Yep! He sure did! Just don't ask how." Tracy's eyes held a little bit of mischief.

"Not a problem."

"The only reason why he's okay with it now is because I felt sorry for him and 'kissed it to make it all better,' as he pleaded to me. Heh, what the hey? I indulged him."

Sakura shook her head a little. "I'm not surprised. But if it keeps him happy. . .then go for it."

Tracy nodded her head in agreement.

"But you will all be happy to know that both Naruto and Sasuke will be released tomorrow morning."

Tracy raised her hand in triumph, begging for a high-five. Sakura indulged her.

"I've just got to go brief them. I have some test results to read to them, too. Can you. . ."

"Help? I'll take Naruto."

Sakura's face drooped. "Why? Aren't you tired of the crazy blond?"

"Eh, he's better than Callous Cal in there." She pointed to Sasuke's hospital room door. "I can handle Naruto. I just pop open a button on my uniform, and BAM! He's like putty in my hands."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Well, whatever works, I guess. It's all in the line of duty, huh?"

"Yeah, whatever gets me through the day a lot more smoothly. Just a couple more hours or so and we get to bolt out of here! You have a date!"

"Huh?" 'What is this crazy girl talking about?'

"Lucas." Tracy held a sinister smirk.

"What? It isn't a date. _You_ invited him, remember? And there will be a few more than just me and him. Duh."

"Yeah, but it will definitely give you a chance to get to know him better. You know it!" Tracy grabbed the packet of test results that held Naruto's name on the front, then walked away before Sakura could give a retort.

Sakura sighed. 'I guess I have to face the music sometime. God, how I dread talking to him. I'm sure he's back to normal and waiting to pounce like a rabid wolf, ready to bite down on the jugular of a poor, defenseless little pink kitten.'

Sakura pushed the door open, but didn't see Sasuke lying in his hospital bed. Puzzled, her eyes darted around the room. But there was no sign of Sasuke. She gasped when she noticed first that his shoes were gone. Then the open window let her see the rest of the picture. Sasuke Uchiha had escaped under her watch. Oh, damn. Tsunade's going to kill her.

Sakura ran to the open window. She stuck her head outside and scanned the streets. The sidewalk was pretty clear. Sakura's heart sank. She was very disappointed.

"Mmmmh. . ."

Sakura's head shot up and took a hard hit on the window.

"Ow!"

Holding her head like it was barely connected anymore, Sakura turned around and gazed at a frightening and pitiful sight. There lay Sasuke Uchiha, fully naked and barely conscious. He looked pretty strung out. Upon closer inspection - to his face, that is - Sakura noticed his eyes were extremely dilated, his skin was abnormally pale, and he wasn't reacting to her panicked screams. Sakura knew well enough to keep hush. Sasuke wouldn't want all the nurses barging in to find him on the floor, as naked as the day he was born, crazed and out of his mind.

Sakura jumped up and grabbed the thin white blanket off his bed. She hastily covered him up, blushing wildly. It wasn't so much that he was very, very naked. It was more startling that he had a very impressive. . .erection. What. The. Hell.

Sakura checked him over a little better while trying not to notice the extra-large tent a few feet down south. His eyes weren't just dilated; they were discolored. Interestingly enough, Sakura thought she saw flickers of purple shooting through them. Sakura fumbled in one of her white lab coat pockets before she fished out her little flashlight. She shined the light in his eyes and was completely amazed at what she saw.

In Sasuke's eyes were flickering, curving lines of violet. They looked like teeny bolts of electricity flowing through them. Does it have something to do with his Chidori? Or is this something else entirely? Whatever it is, Sakura knew Sasuke's life could be in danger.

"Oh, my gosh. I've never seen anything like this. I'm sorry, Sasuke, but I have to tell Tsunade."

* * *

><p><strong>First chapter! We find a little bit of humor and discover a serious health condition, but no romance yet! Reviews welcome! I'm not too sure about this story. Let me know what you think about the plot in the description to see if this is something you'd read all the way through without giving up halfway into it . I'm ADD unless it's interesting enough, you know?<br>**


	2. Poison Control

**. . .and Call Me in the Morning: Ch. 2  
><strong>

_A/N: Naruto characters and themes are not my property, and I do not profit from any likenesses._

* * *

><p>In the previous scene:<p>

_Sakura turned around and gazed at a frightening and pitiful sight. There lay Sasuke Uchiha, fully naked and barely conscious. He looked pretty strung out. Upon closer inspection - to his face, that is - Sakura noticed his eyes were extremely dilated, his skin was abnormally pale, and he wasn't reacting to her panicked screams. Sakura knew well enough to keep hush. Sasuke wouldn't want all the nurses barging in to find him on the floor, as naked as the day he was born, crazed and out of his mind._

_Sakura jumped up and grabbed the thin white blanket off his bed. She hastily covered him up, blushing wildly. It wasn't so much that he was very, very naked. It was more startling that he had a very impressive. . .erection. What. The. Hell._

_Sakura checked him over a little better while trying not to notice the extra-large tent a few feet down south. His eyes weren't just dilated; they were discolored. Interestingly enough, Sakura thought she saw flickers of purple shooting through them. Sakura fumbled in one of her white lab coat pockets before she fished out her little flashlight. She shined the light in his eyes and was completely amazed at what she saw._

_In Sasuke's eyes were flickering, curving lines of violet. They looked like teeny bolts of electricity flowing through them. Does it have something to do with his Chidori? Or is this something else entirely? Whatever it is, Sakura knew Sasuke's life could be in danger._

_"Oh, my gosh. I've never seen anything like this. I'm sorry, Sasuke, but I have to tell Tsunade."_

* * *

><p>Sakura waited outside the exam room on the eighth floor. Lady Tsunade ordered her to wait outside after noticing the young woman was too emotionally attached and was becoming a bit unhinged. Sasuke Uchiha was evidently in bad shape. But Sakura couldn't understand why. That was what made it so frustrating for her - she couldn't help him. But she will never stop trying.<p>

'What is this? Why isn't he all better yet? Did I do something wrong? Did he get an infection? Because of me? Will he be alright? Oh, God! What if I just made things worse?'

Sakura mulled over possibilities for her own mistakes. Sakura happens to be a very careful doctor, and would not leave one "i" undotted or one "t" uncrossed. She sincerely hoped everything was going to be okay. It wasn't so much that she feared being labeled as a failure or an incompetent doctor; Sakura was terrified that her close friend was in mortal danger and she failed to help him.

The white door creaked open. Out walked two members of Lady Tsunade's personal medical team. Sakura was too shaken to note that the two persons happened to be Dr. Morimasa Ogata and Dr. Ikku Matsuda, two of the world's best-known toxicologists. These two men are experts at many different types of poisons, toxic foods and plants, venom, and special toxic fighting skills or bloodline limits. They both have traveled the world in their studies, and made a formidable team after coming to Konoha to work under Lady Tsunade several years back. The two were well aware of each other, but never really worked together before working for Konoha. Rumor has it that Lady Tsunade actually won a bet that all but enslaved them to her. Since their first day, most of the villagers had never even been able to set eyes on the pair.

Drs. Ogata and Matsuda peered down at the disheveled, downtrodden apprentice of Lady Tsunade. The two men had come to hold high esteem for Sakura, along with quite a bit of affection. It was too hard not to grow close to the young girl. She was beautiful and very talented. Sakura had a genuine thirst for knowledge, a trait both men saw in each other, as well. Sakura also genuinely felt compelled to help people any way she could, even putting her own safety and well-being on the line to do so. Sakura was destined to be a wonderful doctor.

The two doctors also knew well of the Uchiha clan and Sasuke Uchiha. He was quite the formidable ANBU ninja, or so they've heard. His brother, Itachi, was the leader of the Konoha Police Force. Both young men were revered nobles and terrifying opponents. The doctors knew of the infamous Uchiha disposition, and knew well enough about Sakura's youthful affections towards the younger Uchiha brother.

Dr. Ogata spoke up, hating to see Sakura in so much anguish.

"Dr. Haruno, your patient is doing just fine. Lady Tsunade has stabilized him. You were quite astute to notice poisoning so quickly. Your split-second action possibly saved his life. That Uchiha boy owes you his life, you know."

Sakura stood up, ignoring the nagging sensations running through her muscles. She quelled her restlessness and fatigue just to find out how Sasuke is doing.

"How is he? Is he really stable? What type of poison is it?"

Dr. Matsuda laughed and put his hand out in front of him to slow Sakura down.

"Whoa, young lady. One question at a time, please. Sasuke is stable, but we haven't been able to drain as much of the poison out as we should have easily been able to. We. . .don't know what type of poison it is. It is not indigenous to these parts or any other country we've visited. It's possible it could be a new strain of a very rare plant I discovered. . ."

"I discovered it, Ikku. You merely read my report once it was all finished."

"Right. _We_ discovered it-"

Dr. Ogata sighed in irritation. Sakura rolled her eyes. 'Maybe working together is a mistake for these two. Always trying to one-up the other.'

"-on a tall mountain located in the treacherous mountain range bordering the Land of Earth. From what we observed, it can be fatal unless enough is removed from the bloodstream before it reaches the heart. We believe we have done so."

"Oh, thank you! Thank y-" Sakura pulled back and tried to maintain more professional composure. "Thank you for your miracle, Drs. Ogata and Matsuda!" Sakura bowed, but had a little bit of trouble on the way back up. Her energy was zapped, not to mention her chakra levels were extremely low. She wanted to face-plant onto the floor.

"Oh, you should be in there thanking Lady Tsunade. She did most of the work. She has plenty of experience with poisons, as you should very well know." Dr. Matsuda put his hand on Sakura's shoulder. She looked as if she would slump against the wall at any moment. "You do, as well. You're a very strong, knowledgeable doctor. At your age, that is completely unheard of. We can't wait to see what you are capable of in your lifetime. We're sorry we'll be gone long before then."

"Thank you."

"You can go in and see him now, if you'd like." Dr. Ogata noticed her hesitation, even though he knew she wanted to see Sasuke. "Why do you hesitate? Don't you want to see him?"

Sakura shifted from one foot to the other. "I do have experience with poisons, but why didn't I notice quickly enough? I should have."

"No, no, Sakura. This type of poison doesn't affect the victim until a few days later."

"Like Sasori's poison?" Sakura thought back to the Akatsuki member named Sasori, whose poison would kill even a very strong shinobi in only three days, rendering the victim paralyzed and virtually helpless in those three days leading up to their death. It was a very complex type of poison, and thinking this could very well be similar scared Sakura. She questioned her abilities.

"Well, not quite. This poison seems to have come from a plant of some sort, not from an attack. It is complex like Sasori's poison, but not similar enough for us to have the upper hand. The cause of death is the poisoning of the heart. It will cause the heart to seize. It can lie dormant for a number of days, depending on how active the victim will be while infected. But when it is triggered, it moves very slowly. While it is moving through the bloodstream, it affects the mental stability of the person. He can become flustered, possibly enraged quickly."

Sakura scoffed. "Then I wouldn't have known. Nothing out of the ordinary there." Sakura was only kidding. Everyone knows Uchihas show no emotion. But what stood out to her was Sasuke asking to go out and do things, then finding him in that. . ._disrobed_ state. There's no telling how crazy he went while she left him alone.

Dr. Ogata nodded his head in understanding, missing Sakura's sarcasm, and continued on.

"Furthermore, his chakra levels will drain quickly until they are almost completely depleted. That gives us the clue that this was designed specifically for combat against other ninja. He can lose his train of thought easily, begin to say things he wouldn't normally say, then. . .pretty much begin to lose any shred of sanity. His mind will eventually shut him down, in a way. He will lose consciousness, but not before insanity kicks in. Did no nurse report anything unusual before you found him?"

'Well, now I know why he was asking about going swimming.' "No. But I did notice his window was open. Do you think he was trying to escape?"

"I don't know. We've never dealt with this specific poison before, and it's possible Sasuke may not remember any of his last few hours. We just don't know yet."

"Oh. He didn't hurt himself, did he? I noticed some cuts and scrapes. I guess we may never know how he got those."

Dr. Matsuda snickered a little. "Actually, he fractured his left wrist, he has bruising in his ribs, and had a very nice hole in his right hand."

"Oh my gosh! Wha. . .a hole? What do you mean?"

"It seems that the crazed boy stabbed himself with a sharp instrument of some sort. Nothing that matches the wound was found in his hospital room. It's a very peculiar situation."

"Then how. . .oh, never mind! There's no telling what happened there, I suppose. Will he wake up soon?"

"You should ask Lady Tsunade. I believe she has a mission for you, Dr. Haruno. Don't worry about a thing."

Both doctors gave her a nod, a smile and a little bit of comfort, then walked back towards the elevators.

Sakura ducked in the hospital room. There she found Lady Tsunade sitting in a corner chair, scribbling on a clipboard. She didn't look up when Sakura came in, but Sakura knew she was aware of her presence immediately. Sasuke was very still on his stark white hospital bed with a charcoal grey blanket covering him. It was obvious to Sakura that he still wasn't wearing any clothes. She blushed at her earlier encounter with the naked Uchiha. 'Just what was going on in that head of yours, Sasuke? You must have been tripping pretty badly. I sincerely hope you didn't venture out that window, because we have yet to recover your clothes here in the hospital.'

"He'll be awake in about an hour, maybe less." Tsunade glanced from her work to see Sakura peering at Sasuke's sleeping form. His right hand was bandaged. Both hands were at his side, above the blanket. "The poison isn't all out of his system, but there isn't enough left to cause him any more harm. The only problem right now is he'll be pretty weak for at least 20 more hours or so."

"Is he. . ."

"He'll be fine. But the problem at hand is we need to know more about this poison. A lot more. We've never seen this before. It likely came from battle, but we are not aware of any further side effects, how it is transmitted or possibly even long-term or recurring conditions."

Sakura huffed. She didn't really think about how badly Sasuke could be in trouble with this poison. She stared in disbelief at a helpless and defenseless Sasuke, something utterly surprising and shocking to her or to most anyone else. At that moment, Sakura knew what she had to do. She lightly took grasp of Sasuke's unbandaged hand.

'Sasuke, I vow to help and protect you at all costs until you are fully healed.' She turned to Lady Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama, what were the orders you were going to assign me?"

"Well, that should be fairly obvious, Sakura. You are his doctor. This is your patient. You need to monitor him."

Sakura nodded her head. Then she remembered. "But Tsunade-sama, I have vacation time for the rest of the week. Can someone else-"

"Out of the question. This is not someone else's patient. When he wakes up, he will be perfectly able to get up and walk out of here."

"Then why-"

"I wasn't finished, Sakura."

"Sorry, Tsunade-sama."

"Sasuke will need monitoring. He will likely jump at the chance to get out of the hospital. It will only take a few days, but you will need to act as his personal doctor _and_ nurse."

"What? We have more than plenty of nurses who. . .would. . .no, we don't." 'Lazy bitches.' "The young ones think he's good-looking, but everyone's terrified of him. He's such a jerk." 'And powerful. I can't match him.'

"My point, exactly." Lady Tsunade stared Sakura down, weakening her small ounce of defiance. She's good at staring people down to bend them to her will. "We cannot be certain how the poison has affected his combat capabilities. He may not even be able to think rationally. I highly doubt he will even grasp the urgency of his situation. Until then, he will need medical assistance and added security. You can handle both of those needs."

Sakura drooped her shoulders into an unflattering slouch and sighed in defeat. She knew she had lost from the very beginning, never willing to defy direct orders from the Hokage. Any argument with Lady Tsunade always seems more successful in the beginning, but sounds whiny and pathetic near the end. She looked at Sasuke's peaceful yet troubled face.

"I guess you're coming home with me, Sasuke, whether you like it or not."

"Good. I'll have him transported to your apartment this evening."

Sakura jerked and turned quickly to face Lady Tsunade. "What!" she asked, startled. "Tonight? You said he won't be awake until tomorrow. Why does he need to leave right now?"

"He will be harder to control if he's in here. At the rate Naruto's going, he'll likely be frequenting our only padded room. If we grant him the amenities of a home instead of the hospital, be will be much easier to deal with."

"But why does it have to be my home?"

"You're not just his doctor, Sakura. You're his teammate and childhood friend. I'm assuming you've seen each other's homes."

"Well, yes." 'Ugh. Sasuke's apartment is so. . .plain. And cold. White walls, except for his beige bedroom walls. He keeps the thermostat below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. His china is plain white, his furniture is solid color (no prints), and he doesn't even own curtains except for the cheap, sheer ones that came with his bedroom when he signed the lease for the apartment! Well, at least he isn't a filthy pig like Naru-'

"Would you feel more comfortable sleeping in your own bed or on the couch at his?"

"Deal. . .I guess he's lucky I have a guest bedroom."

* * *

><p>"Psst!" Naruto's shadow clone peeked around the corner from his hospital room. "Nurse Tracy?" Naruto checked his watch. It was now so close to 5:00 p.m. The poor spiky-haired blond was so hungry!<p>

'Maybe I can jet outta here for a nice dinner with Nurse Tracy! Hot Damn! Where is that hot girl?'

Naruto's clone strolled down the hallway until he heard a couple of voices, one of them being a female voice. Smirking, he hid around the closest corner to see who was coming.

Disappointing the blond clone, it was not Nurse Tracy. It was an older doctor who was flirting with a young candy-striper. Naruto shook his head, disgusted at the older man's ploy to romance a naive young girl. Though he was just as guilty, but just a bit closer to the girl's age. 'That makes it more okay, right? Well, if things don't go over well with Nurse Tracy. . .I am ANBU, after all. I'm sure brawn trumps brains.'

After they passed, Naruto's clone sleuthed down the hallway, spying on any open doors to look for the object of his momentary affections. The clone searched high and low while creeping so as to go undetected. He was hot on Tracy's trail like a bloodhound, or so he thought.

SWOOSH!

Naruto's clone suddenly dissipated.

A little further up the hallway, Naruto peered out of his hospital room, wondering what the Hell just happened. 'What the Hell? Was my clone just attacked in the middle of the hospital halls?'

"Sakura? Is that you? Sasuk-"

WHAM!

The dumb blond never even felt the chakra presence. Naruto's body fell forward onto the cold tile floor. Two strong arms flipped him on his back and drug him back into his hospital room, the door closing quietly behind them.

* * *

><p>Sasuke stirred. He first noticed his tongue. It felt like it weighed a ton. He struggled but still barely lifted it, sliding the unusually heavy and dry muscle over the roof of his mouth. It tasted like copper and. . .what is that other taste. . .plastic, perhaps? His eyes felt like lead. He squinted and managed to concentrate on his right eye, peering out into a darkened room. Had his eyes not been adjusted to the darkness already, he was sure it would have been very difficult to see the machines on either side of him. Not again. This was how he woke up after his latest battle. Can't a guy ever catch a break?<p>

Sasuke heard someone stirring and panicked, instantly feeling threatened in his weakened state. He tried to use his voice to grumble, but nothing came out.

"Sasuke? Are you awake?" Sasuke's muscled relaxed. It was Sakura, thank God. He tried again to find his voice. What came out was surprising and embarrassing. His voice was gruff and scratchy, and it could not have startled even a cowardly dog.

"Sa-Sakura."

Sakura recognized the tone of voice. He was upset. His loss of voice didn't do much to keep her from comprehending the Uchiha was pissed. He must not know anything about his newfound condition. Sakura herself was pretty upset that he was awake several hours ahead of schedule, thus firmly wiping her evening plans off the calendar.

"Sasuke, it appears you had been infected with a slow-moving poison in your last battle. We were able to extract most of it, thank goodness. You'll be weak for a little while, but I'm sure you-"

"What? What is it?"

Sakura flinched. Sasuke's tone held a sense of urgency. It startled her and made her a little uneasy.

"It's. . .we may have a problem. Whoever poisoned you was able to do so undetected by you and me. And I'm willing to bet they have plenty more poison where that came from."

Sasuke tried to sit up, but failed. He thought he was close, but he wasn't. Sakura saw him try to lift his head, but his neck barely made an effort. She knew he would be very angry with her for helping, but he was in no condition to overexert himself. He'll have to let this one slide, for now. Sakura grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up. Sasuke did grumble, but was slightly thankful for her help. Sasuke's arms were mobile enough to reach out and grab the metal rails of his hospital bed for balance. Sakura reached around behind Sasuke and fluffed his pillows, rearranging them so he could prop himself up on them. She stood up and reached backwards to the side table and picked up a tall, clear glass and a white pitcher. Sakura poured fresh water into the glass and brought it to Sasuke's lips to help him drink it. Just as she expected, Sasuke was offended that she was treating him like a. . .well, like a patient. Sasuke rudely grabbed the glass from her, making a portion of the water splash out of the cup and onto his hospital blanket.

"I need to get out of here." Sasuke noticed that his voice was returning. His sore throat must not have been attributed to the poison.

Sakura sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that. You need to rest, or you won't heal or fully recover as quickly fr-"

"What the fuck! Sakura, what the Hell happened to my hand?"

* * *

><p>Nurse Tracy returned to Naruto's room, expecting him to be awake and back to his usual boisterous, irritating and perverted self. To her surprise, Naruto was still out cold.<p>

'What the Hell did you do to him, Sakura?' Tracy wondered about the impact Sakura caused as the blond went sailing into the wall of his hospital room. She turned to see the impression left in the drywall. 'Damn. Nice one.'

Tracy walked over to Naruto's heart monitor and observed a normal reading. "At least he's still breathing. Maybe a coma is good for him! Smart thinking, Sakura. Now, how's about those drinks?"

"Yes. How's about that drink, Tracy?"

"Ah!" Tracy stumbled backwards, shocked at the sudden appearance. Se grabbed her chest, startled. "Oh, hi. You scared me."

"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I was just checking on this guy. He isn't awake yet. I'm wondering how bad of a hit he took from Sakura."

"Yeah, me too. But our shift's pretty much ended, so. . ." Tracy flicked a bit of her hair behind her shoulder. "Are you still up for going out tonight? Sakura said she'd be there."

"Yeah, she did. You're coming, too, right?" Lucas smiled a devilish grin. Tracy swooned.

"Oh! Um, yeah. I-I mean, if you want me to." Tracy upped the ante on her flirting, noticing Lucas was interested and extremely flattering. 'Sorry, Sakura. It looks like this one may be mine. For tonight, at least.'

Tracy's cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She reached in to pull it out and slid her finger over the screen to read her message from Sakura.

* * *

><p>Sakura sat in one of her living room chairs, staring at her cell phone. Tracy had not called her yet, so Sakura assumed she was at her own apartment, getting ready to go out tonight. She sighed and began to text Tracy.<p>

_**Sakura: Hey. R U still at the hospital?**_

_**Tracy: Yes. About 2 leave.**_

_**Sakura: I can't go out 2nite. I'll have to make it up to you l8r. Tsunade dumped a problem in my lap.**_

_**Tracy: Bummer. I'll call you in the morning, then. Wish me good night!**_

_**Sakura: Good night, you lucky bitch. Have fun with the new hottie.**_

Sakura put her cell phone down on her coffee table and looked back over to Sasuke, lamenting a chance to get to know hottie-nurse a bit better. Well, it wasn't like she was gong to be able to bring him back to her place now, was she?

But the thought of Lucas washed away as she looked over at Sasuke. He was bundled in a comfy blanket she fetched from her guest bedroom's closet. Sasuke demanded he stay on the couch, since he assured her these would be very temporary arrangements. Sakura figured she'd drag him to the guest bedroom as soon as she was certain he was fast asleep, but now she felt a little guilty. Sakura looked over to his limp left arm, clutching her remote control. The guest bedroom didn't have a television set. If this was what kept him happy, then she would oblige. It's so much better than having him pissed off at her. The Uchiha glare wasn't so much frightening to her (like for so many others, the reason why no other nurse would deal with him alone) as it was just downright annoying.

So instead, Sasuke got what he wanted and stayed on her couch in front of her large, wide screen television set to watch tv all evening. Whatever he wanted to watch, not whatever Sakura wanted to watch. Ir was only _her_ television, after all. Ugh. Alas, Sakura didn't complain too much and let him watch whatever he wanted. She was still exhausted from explaining to him how she'd found him, buck naked and wounded. She didn't tell him he must have somehow escaped from his hospital room. Sakura sincerely hoped he as fully clothed before he hopped back into his hospital room - they didn't hear of any reports about a streaker running through the streets of Konoha, so that was a good indication there were no witnesses, other than Sakura and Lady Tsunade.

Sakura removed her aching self from her living room chair and walked over to Sasuke. His breathing was even. His face looked very relaxed. She had checked her thermostat earlier to make sure the temperature was warm enough to help keep his body warm. She didn't want a draft in her apartment to be his undoing. Sasuke's immune system was pretty weak at this stage. Any simple common cold could turn into pneumonia in a short amount of time, possibly before she would notice it in time.

Sasuke flinched underneath her gaze. His eyelid lifted and saw a mass of pink hair.

"Sakura. . .what are you doing? I'm not dead."

Sakura shot back, instinctively moving back a step. She had been caught checking up on him. But she wasn't too embarrassed. The bastard should be a bit more appreciative. Now she just wanted to slap him upside his perfect, pretty little head. 'Dumb jerk.'

"I know, baka. I'm just checking to see if your body has made much progress in recovery."

"I feel fine."

"Shut up. You're lying."

"How do you know?"

"Because you look terrible." Sakura smirked when she saw his eyes grow a little bigger. He was never one to tolerate a disheveled appearance like Naruto would, or even sometimes Kakashi-sensei. Uchihas are always anal, even with their appearance. It sometimes put quite a damper on long-term missions between Sasuke and his teammates. Speaking of, Sakura knew she needed to call Kakashi, Sai and Yamato to let them in on Sasuke's condition. But she decided she would wait until tomorrow to update them, since there wasn't much to update them on at this moment. Hopefully, Sasuke's condition would improve much more by morning and he'd possibly be able to get up and walk around a bit. He'd need the exercise if they were to assess any damage to Sasuke's fighting capabilities.

"Hn." His grunt went unnoticed, since Sakura had already moved into the kitchen. Sasuke tried to close his eyes, but the noise in the kitchen prevented another nap. Sasuke could clearly hear Sakura banging pots and pans in the kitchen. Even though she wasn't trying to, the clanging distracted him from sleep, as it would for anybody. But, oddly enough, Sasuke didn't mind the noise. It reminded him of when he was younger, when he'd be sick and his mother would be fixing him something special in the kitchen while he was on the couch, listening to her. Sometimes she'd even hum a tranquil, relaxing tune that would calm him down and soothe him.

Sasuke thought about his earlier childhood, when his mother, Mikoto Uchiha, would allow him to nap on the couch while she would serve him herself. The head family of the Uchiha clan had their own waiting staff, of course. But Mikoto liked to take care of her own sons, like any good mother would. She would make him homemade tomato soup from scratch. Sure, chicken noodle soup is known as the staple "sick people" food. But Mikoto knew her youngest son absolutely loved tomatoes. Sasuke knew he had loved tomatoes since before he could even remember. His mother would go out of her way to care for her family and for so many others. Mikoto never turned down an ailing or needy person. She would often busy herself taking care of others that she would put her own health and safety on the line. She was a kind and pleasant woman, a dutiful and caring wife, and a wonderful mother.

Sasuke thought about the close similarities between Sakura and his mother. Sakura is a very strong kunoichi. During their younger preteen years and leading into their teenage years, Sasuke was pretty hard on her. He let her know exactly where her weaknesses lie. He pushed others away due to his unhappiness with his father and brother. But Sakura prevailed where so many others would not have made it, and she has become such a strong ninja. She can make any enemy tremble at the sight of her glowing fists. But, in the same second, her glowing fists would unravel and become something relieving and relaxing. Her hands can instantly turn from weapons into tools for healing and peered from his position on the couch to gaze at his teammate.

'But now, looking at Sakura at her beautiful back arching over the counter top, her hair shining under the hanging light fixture, her. . .wait. What am I thinking? This is Sakura!'

Sasuke shook his head, hoping to clear his mind. He turned back to the television, not really able to follow the program with his cluttered thoughts.

Within about twenty minutes' time, Sakura was pleased to present Sasuke with a serving tray. On the tray was a bowl of tomato soup made from scratch, like his mother would make him in his childhood (and still sometimes sent over to him if he fell ill). Sakura also made him a melted cheese sandwich with shredded chicken, which was delicious. She had also made herself a similar sandwich. Sasuke noticed a tall glass with a light green liquid. It held an herbal aroma, so he guessed it was some sort of herbal green tea. Sakura was a kunoichi and a doctor with vast medical knowledge, so Sasuke figured it was concocted to boost his immune system. And it didn't taste half bad, either. Something told him Sakura made sure the tea wasn't something he would spit right out. In fact, everything on his tray tasted really good. Sasuke wasn't sure if his taste buds were dull, or perhaps that it was his first decent meal in days. But he had to give kudos to Sakura for really great cooking skills, even in a pinch - for a sick person. Sasuke cared about Sakura, and knew he had to let her know of his gratitude.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Sakura."

"Hm?" Sakura set down her glass of green tea and turned to Sasuke from her position in the living room chair.

"Well, I. . .don't want you to think I'm not grateful. . .for everything. . ."

"I don't."

". . .thanks." Sasuke mumbled his last word, tripping over himself in this unfamiliar territory.

Sakura had to admit that she was pretty surprised. Sasuke rarely showed his gratitude, and anyone he showed it to usually was grateful for a nod. But he actually put his gratitude into words for her. Audible words. No nod, no grunt. Sakura got an actual "thanks" from the stoic younger Uchiha brother. Anyone else wouldn't pay much attention to it, but Sakura was ready to fall over in shock.

"Y-you're. . .welcome, Sasuke." 'Ooh, I can't believe it! Wait until Ino-pig hears this! Her jaw will drop! For once, she'll be at a loss for words!'

Sasuke turned back to the television. Now he wasn't even sure if this was the same program as before. Really, like he could concentrate now? He had a very attractive distraction sitting a few feet away from him. 'Why now, of all times for my crush on Sakura to pop out in full force? Well, why not see if I can make something come of this.' He smirked, gone unnoticed as Sakura worked on completing her late-night snack. She knew she'd need her energy, just in case Sasuke needed more medical help on his road to recovery.

Sakura noticed that Sasuke scarfed down the tomato soup, obviously a favorite of his. He was almost finished with his sandwich - just one final bite. Sakura waited until he lifted the remaining piece of his sandwich before she stood up and cleared his tray out of the way. She picked up his glass and found a coaster so she could set the glass down on the coffee table in front of him, making sure to keep it within his arms' reach. But before she set the glass down, Sasuke reached out and gently grasped her wrist. Sakura was a little bit surprised, and Sasuke caught the small gasp she let slide.

"I really meant it. Thank you."

I. . .I-I. . ." Sakura couldn't make words form, no matter how hard she tried. She was simply at a loss. What was he trying to tell her? Was he just grateful for her help? For taking care of him and protecting him? For not letting anyone else in on his weakened state?

"Sakura. . .sit down."

"O-okay." Sakura turned away to move back to her living room chair, but Sasuke's grip didn't lessen. She couldn't go back to her seat. So she stood there and turned back around to look at him. He pulled her to him, Sakura's backside hitting the part of the couch cushion close to the edge. Sasuke reached out to take the tray from her and slid it over to the coffee table. Sasuke let go of her arm and let her fall on his chest, knowing she'd lose balance and would have to use him for support. Tricky, tricky.

"Sasuke. . ." Sakura felt a dark blush form on her cheeks. She'd never been this close to Sasuke in an intimate situation. Only in battle, during training and in tight spots on missions. But what was going on now?

"Sakura, I just want you to know that I care about you. A whole lot. I don't know how to tell you this. I don't think I've ever told anyone before. Sure, I love my Mom. I care about my family. But. . I just wanted to let you. . .let you in, I guess."

"Sasuke, I. . ." 'What the Hell is he talking about?' "Sasuke, I care about you, too. I care about all my teammates, my family and friends."

Sasuke turned his head away for a moment. He looked a little hurt by her dismissal. She obviously wasn't getting it. 'She usually doesn't, doesn't she?'

"Sakura, how do you feel about me?"

"Huh?" Sakura was suddenly very much aware of her hands planted firmly on his chest, her fingers almost gripping his skin. He was wearing his navy blue shirt with the Hidden Leaf logo printed on the front, basic t-shirts a casual t-shirt issued to pretty much all Konoha shinobi. But she now not only noticed that not only was she able to feel his taut chest muscles underneath her hands, but she was accidentally making she shirt ride up a bit, revealing his chiseled abs. 'Damn, he does train pretty hard. No one can say he isn't dedicated to his job.'

Sakura's blush darkened even more, if it was even possible. Sasuke guessed she must be getting the idea now. Either that or the intensity of the situation was getting to her. Either way, he could make it work to his advantage. Sasuke leaned forward, letting his face hover extremely close to Sakura's. He could hear her suck in air with another small gasp, surprised at Sasuke's actions. Sasuke stopped just short of letting his lips touch hers. He looked like he was waiting for something.

Sakura looked puzzled until she finally caught a clue, right before Sasuke came within an inch of her rosy pink lips. Sakura's eyes fell gently closed, and she leaned in to lightly graze Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke tilted his head a little and pushed his lips fully on Sakura's, claiming hers in a gentle kiss. Sakura let out a tiny moan, obviously pleased at the light, pleasant sensation the touch caused.

It only took a handful of seconds before Sasuke made the kiss turn passionate. Sakura wasn't even thinking, and she let him slip his tongue inside after she leaned back for a breath. That definitely threw her for a loop. Sasuke caressed her tongue with his. Sakura's eyes rolled back into her head. Not that this was her first kiss, but Sakura was a virgin, and she hadn't let too much passion into her life as she pushed herself to succeed in the medical world. She made it her life's work to help others, though she didn't take much time to take care of herself. Now Sasuke was willing to do just that. He wanted to make her feel special, and to take care of her needs and wants. To make her feel safe and wanted. Sakura got all that just from his passionate kiss. Maybe she was being silly and reading too much into it?

Both young shinobi became heated very quickly. Sasuke's hands began to wander over her body. Soon after, Sakura's hands found their way underneath Sasuke's navy blue t-shirt to caress the skin over his rock hard abs. When Sasuke's hands reached down to her butt and squeezed, he lifted Sakura onto his body. She quickly realized his abs weren't the only thing that was hard about the younger Uchiha. Sakura gasped, realizing the compromising position. Sasuke didn't let her gather her thoughts before he started unbuttoning her shirt. He hastily pulled the unbuttoned blouse backwards, letting Sakura finish the job and shrug off the cloth. Sakura was obviously as interested in him as he was her, and she showed it by quickly pulling his t-shirt over his head. His already messy hair came out wild and crazy, poking out in all different directions. Sakura chuckled inwardly. Sasuke detected a hint of laughter in her eyes. He took the hint and ran his fingers through his dark locks, taming them a bit.

Sakura leaned down again for a passionate kiss. Sasuke obliged, capturing her lips once again in a fight for dominance. Sasuke won, using the time to reach around to Sakura's back. His fingers trailed her spine. Sasuke was pleased at the chills her received from his touch. He eventually reached the zipper on her skirt. He wasted no time in pulling it down, the material of the skirt falling open. Sakura lifted her hips off of Sasuke's torso long enough for Sasuke's hands to push the material down her thighs. Sakura wiggled enough for the skirt to fall all the way down her bent legs. She kicked it off, leaving her in her white lacy bra and white cotton panties. Had she known this evening was going to be this interesting, she would have made the effort to wear something a little more alluring. But basic white cotton was going to have to do.

Sakura's hands flew to Sasuke's drawstring on his pants. The pants were a little baggy and loose, like Sasuke liked, so he had tied the drawstring. Now he wished he hadn't because it would have moved things along a bit quicker. Sakura evidently couldn't undo the tie in her flustered state, and Sasuke was growing more and more impatient. He lifted his hips, bringing Sakura up a little higher, as well. Her hands flew to his chest again, now able to touch his chest without the t-shirt in the way. His chest and stomach were so hard! She loved feeling his muscles. She shouldn't be so impressed, since she has seen so many bare chests of handsome men in her healing and in her studies, as well as in the field as a kunoichi surrounded by countless male ninjas. But this was Sasuke, the object of her unrequited love for years. She lost interest as a crush, but new flames arose where no other guys had managed to even so much as cause sparks.

Well, the sparks certainly are flying now.

When Sasuke raised his hips to slide his baggy pants off, he failed to notice how he now could actually do these tasks. His strength was returning. He had an appetite. Now he had a different kind of appetite, and he had a pink-haired beauty to thank. And he would do just that. But wait. . .

'Oh, God. Where did this stomach pain come from?'

Sakura immediately noticed Sasuke's color draining from his face. One second, Sasuke is raising his hips to slide his pants off; the next second, he's fighting the urge to vomit. To say Sakura panicked would be an understatement. She jumped up immediately, running to her bathroom in the master bedroom.

"Sasuke, hold on!" Sakura snatched a fluffy green robe from a hook off the bathroom door, then grabbed her little plastic wastebasket. She overturned the basket, letting a few pieces of bathroom trash spill out onto the floor. 'There's no time to worry about that right now!' She reached up and popped open her well-stocked (she's a medic - go figure) medicine cabinet, easily able to find a cold compress activated by mashing the center of the pack to release the active chemicals. Within seconds, Sakura had left his side and zipped back in to play doctor once again.

Sasuke had almost no color left in his face, and he was barely holding back tears. Sakura was extremely worried. 'What if we didn't get all the poison out of his blood stream? Surely Konoha's top poison experts extracted enough poison from his system, right?'

Sakura placed the wastebasket next to Sasuke for reassurance. She placed the cold compress directly onto his forehead. She pressed the tips of her fingers to the sides of his head, not noticing now how silky his onyx locks happen to be. Instead, all she could sense and feel was a terrible fever and a reaction to an unidentifiable poison. Thanks to her studies and keen sense for detecting medical problems, Sakura could use her chakra to sense the poison was attacking his organs. What surprised her the most was that it was also attacking his blood cells, like a deadly virus. Oh, shit.

Sakura ran to her cell phone, dialing Lady Tsunade at her home.

*ring*

"Tsunade-sama, please pick up!"

*ring* -click-

"Please don't be in a drunken stupor already!"

Silence.

". . .um. . .hello?"

"No, Sakura, I am not. What has you calling at this hour, young lady?"

"Oh, God, Tsunade-sama! Sasuke has an immense fever! It just hit him like a ton of bricks!"

"Then just treat it like he has a cold. With a bit of over-the-counter medicine and a cold compress, his fever should break-"

"No! It's the poison! I can sense it! There's more now than there was when he was brought over here! It's like it's replicating. It's attacking his organs; right now, his pancreas."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Tsunade-sama, wait!"

"What is it?"

"It's attacking white blood cells. It's like a virus, only-"

-click-

Lady Tsunade hurriedly slipped on her sandals and tore her home apart to gather up supplies she thought she'd need. In a few minutes, she slipped out of her home to rush to Sakura's aid. 'It's worse than I thought. Hang, on, Sasuke. If you aren't strong enough, this poison will kill you before dawn.'

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Much-delayed second chapter!  
><strong>


	3. Who to Trust?

**. . .and Call Me in the Morning: Ch. 3  
><strong>

_A/N: Naruto characters and themes are not my property, and I do not profit from any likenesses._

* * *

><p>In the previous scene:<em><br>_

_*ring*_

_"Tsunade, please pick up!"_

_*ring* -click-_

_"Please don't be in a drunken stupor already!"_

_Silence._

_". . .um. . .hello?"_

_"No, Sakura, I am not. What has you calling at this hour, young lady?"_

_"Oh, God, Tsunade-sama! Sasuke has an immense fever! It just hit him like a ton of bricks!"_

_"Then just treat it like he has a cold. With a bit of over-the-counter medicine and a cold compress, his fever should break-"_

_"No! It's the poison! I can sense it! There's more now than there was when he was brought over here! It's like it's replicating. It's attacking his organs; right now, his pancreas."_

_"I'll be there as soon as I can."_

_"Tsunade-sama, wait!"_

_"What is it?"_

_"It's attacking white blood cells. It's like a virus, only-"_

_-click-_

_Lady Tsunade hurriedly slipped on her sandals and tore her home apart to gather up supplies she thought she'd need. In a few minutes, she slipped out of her home to rush to Sakura's aid. 'It's worse than I thought. Hang, on, Sasuke. If you aren't strong enough, this poison will kill you before dawn.'_

* * *

><p>Lady Tsunade and Sakura spent the entire night saving Sasuke's life. This poison was out of control, and the experts had no clues to explain it. The two esteemed doctors were in a bind, and knew they would run out of time transporting Sasuke back to the hospital. Since time was a factor, the two intelligent kunoichi medics resorted to giving Sasuke an emergency blood transfusion right there in Sakura's living room.<p>

Hours later, the two doctors were drained of chakra and any other ounce of energy. As the two women lay in the living room, Lady Tsunade in a comfy chair and Sakura draped over an over-sized pillow on the living room rug, the women lightly dozed off to the sound of Sasuke's shallow breathing. Medical equipment lay scattered around the room, which was not yet noticeably brighter from the morning's first rays of light peeking in through Sakura's butter cream-hued curtain panels.

". . .mmmph. . ."

Sakura's head jolted to the left; her reddened cheek slid to the left and lifted off her arm, which had cradled her all-too-heavy head.

'What was that? Is Tsunade-sama talking in her sleep?'

". . .mmph. . .mmh. . ."

Sakura pulled her upper body off her living room rug to see Sasuke grumbling in a fever-induced dream. Well, it was likely more of a hallucination. His feverish mind could be playing tricks on him. Sakura stood up to check on him.

She reached the side of the couch and placed her hand on his head. His fever had reduced drastically, though he was still burning up. She thought this could be the cause of his pained expression. Her fingertips glowed softly with a green light as she released healing chakra into his head. Instantly, the lines in his forehead relaxed, and his face took on a much more peaceful look.

'Gosh, it's been a while since I've seen him wearing such a peaceful look on his face.' Sakura could not help but think about all the high-ranking missions Sasuke had been sent out on these past few years. 'I know he's one of the best shinobi in the village, but this is ridiculous. Why do you keep a distance, Sasuke? You don't have to distance yourself from me. Never.'

"Have you checked his heart rate?"

Sakura jumped, turning around to face Lady Tsunade. Surprisingly enough, Lady Tsunade did not look as bad when she is sleep-deprived than she does when she's hung over.

"Oh, um - no, I haven't." Sakura turned back to Sasuke while Lady Tsunade commenced with her short evaluation of Sasuke's current condition.

"He's still pretty stable, but he'll need to go back to the hospital as soon as possible. He needs to be hooked up to an EKG monitor. If this poison had reached his heart. . ."

Sakura's eyes cast downwards. She knew what Lady Tsunade did not want to finish saying.

"Then there would be no reviving him. I know. Doctors Matsuda and Ogata told me."

Lady Tsunade pulled away from Sasuke. She was still quite a bit worried about Sasuke's percentage of recovery. But she did not want Sakura to sense her uneasiness, nor her doubts.

"Sakura, I'm going to call Shizune now. We will transport Sasuke at once. Please gather up all the medical necessities, along with whatever belongings Sasuke may need in the hospital."

Sakura turned, looking at Sasuke one more time. 'I hope this isn't the last time I'm going to see you alive and breathing, Sasuke. I'm so sorry I couldn't do more.'

"Sakura?" There was no chance Lady Tsunade could mask her concern for Sakura's feelings. The young doctor was obviously very emotional about her teammate and former unrequited love interest. 'It _is_ former, right?'

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura rubbed sleep from her eyes as she grabbed one of Lady Tsunade's bags to begin stuffing medical instruments in for transport.

"I'll need you to contact Sasuke's family. This is serious, and we'll need-"

"What? No, please!" Sakura was terrified of calling the Uchiha compound. What was she going to say? Would they blame her? Why does she have to be the bearer of bad news? Is Mikoto going to cry? Will Fugaku scream at her? What will Itachi do to her? Gosh, the whole clan!

"Sakura, it is the job of a doctor to inform relatives when a condition like this occurs. I know he is ANBU, but he is an Uchiha. They must know immediately."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." She turned back to Sasuke again. 'Hang on, Sasuke. None of us want to lose you.'

* * *

><p><strong>7:45 a.m. A couple of hours later, at Konoha Hospital. . .<strong>

"Doctor Haruno! Doctor! Wait! Sakura, wait!"

Ami, a relatively young and plain-looking nurse in the trauma ward, had to sprint to catch up to the very fast-paced Sakura. Ami had a look of worry on her face.

Sakura turned and slowed her pace. "Ami, what is it? I need to check on a few patients."

"Thank God you're here! When the morning crew got here, something was definitely off."

"What do you mean, Ami?" Sakura now stopped in the middle of the hallway. She led Ami and herself to a slightly enclosed part of the trauma ward's lobby, where no one could hear their private discussion.

"Tracy didn't come in this morning. She isn't answering her cell phone, and she wasn't at her apartment. I went to check on her myself; I just got back. There's no sign of her anywhere!"

Sakura smirked. "Ami, I think she's sleeping it off. She had a very special date last night."

Ami shook her head in disagreement. "But she wasn't in her apartment at all. I used the spare key taped to the back of her porch lights outside her front door. I went in to check on her and get her out of bed, but there was no one home!"

Sakura knew where Tracy lived. She had a small town home close to the heart of the village, not exactly an apartment like Sakura's. Tracy's front door had large outdoor lights mounted to either side, and behind one, Sakura knew, hid a spare key. She'd had to use that spare key plenty of times in order to either check up on Tracy after a wild night of partying or just to get Tracy back home. . .after a wild night of partying. Tracy was a fun-loving young girl, and had every right to be. But when it affects your ability to do your very important, life-saving job, it is a problem.

"Oh, boy. There's no telling where she is, then."

At that moment, Lucas rolled around the corner, looking as handsome as usual. Sakura studied hi for a moment. But unlike the other times when she studied his. . .very attractive physique. . .and damn fine butt. . .this time Sakura concentrated on his body language and facial expressions. She immediately noticed he was hiding something. His body language was way off this morning. He was not flirting with the nurses like he usually did. He was not overly confident, like usual. His face, as handsome as ever, was somehow missing that spark in his eyes and smile. Wait - that's it! He was not smiling or smirking like he usually did. Why not? What was he hiding? Lucas walked straight by Sakura and Ami, heading towards the elevators on the sixth floor. Sakura set her eyes on her target and stalked after him, intending to find out what happened last night and what he did with Tracy.

* * *

><p>'What the Hell? Wha. . .'<p>

"Mmph. . ."

Naruto groaned and peeked out of one barely raised eyelid. It was bright in his room. That told him it must be morning, since the sun rose on this side of the building in which his window faced. Naruto did not notice anyone in his room, which made him sigh with uneasiness. He couldn't sit up or talk. His tongue felt like it weighed a ton of bricks. His throat was as dry as the Sahara Desert. His arms were like putty.

Through a great deal of effort, Naruto managed to swing his right arm around until he reached the button on the side of bed he knew was there - a safety button to call a nurse. He found it pretty easily and pressed it a few times. 'Maybe if the alarm rings several time, that'll get them moving. Hurry.'

Within the minute, two female nurses hurried into Naruto's room.

"Well, Uzumaki! It's about time you woke up!"

Naruto's eyelids were still very droopy, but he was able to see out of both of his eyes now. "Nurse Tracy? Is that you?"

The girls giggled. The brown-haired one he mistook for Nurse Tracy spoke up.

"No, my name is Nurse Hannah. This is my friend, Nurse Erika." Nurse Hannah had shoulder-length rich chocolate brown hair. It was straightened with a flat iron into slick locks. She was wearing a blue uniform. From what Naruto knew, the nurses in the trauma ward wore blue uniforms. 'She must work with Sakura a lot. Oh, I want Sakura!'

Naruto turned to look at Nurse Erika, a slightly taller blonde with slightly wavy golden hair, tied halfway in the back to only have a small handful of golden curls drape over her shoulders. Naruto thought she looked like a model. 'Nurse Tracy who?'

"Oh. Hello, girls." He grinned a ridiculous smirk, hoping to woo the girls into making him their new pet. 'These girls are hot, too! Wow! They can pet me, scratch my ears and stroke me all day! And night! God, I love Konoha! God Bless the Land of the Hidden Leaves!'

The two nurses giggled.

"Do either of you two beautiful young women-" both girls turned beet red- "know how to find Sakura Haruno? I think I need to talk to her."

"Is she your doctor, cutie?" Erika poked Naruto gently in his nose, which made his heart flutter.

'Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?' Naruto's heart raced at the thought of all the attention he was getting from these two sinfully attractive young nurses. But something didn't feel right.

"Uh, yeah. Mine and Sasuke Uchiha's. She's our teammate."

"I'll give her a call, then, and let her know you're awake."

"Um, can you tell her I need to see her immediately? It's urgent." Naruto's face paled a bit. Something was definitely wrong. And it was him.

"Sure thing. Are you and Doctor Haruno. . ."

Naruto's head was getting hot. "We're good friends. We've known each other since we were little."

Both girls took on an expression of adoration. "Aw!" They both cooed in unison. "That's so sweet! Best friends forever," Erika chimed in.

As much as Naruto wanted to lie there and bask in this incredible attention he was receiving from arguably the hospital's two hottest nurses, he really needed Sakura's help. Right this second.

"Girls? I don't feel so well. Can one of you send for Sakura?"

"Oh, goodness! Of course!" Nurse Hannah picked up a telephone close to one of his monitors, which led to the front desk. "Hi, Margaret. I need a page for Dr. Haruno in room 419, please. We need her asap. Thanks." She hung up the phone, and both nurses immediately commenced showering Naruto with whatever assistance they could possibly give him.

"Girls, please. That isn't necessary. My pillow's fi- okay, maybe it isn't. Nurse Hannah, don't worry about that. My hair is always sticking out in all different directions. Your fingers aren't going to help. No, Nurse Erika, don't touch that!"

The girls giggled.

"SAKURA!"

* * *

><p>Sakura had followed Lucas onto the sixth floor. Soon after dismissing Ami and following Lucas for just a little while, she noticed he was carrying a few files with him. Lucas was a nurse, not a receptionist or office personnel. Files weren't really in his job description, past writing during treatment and evaluations. Why did he have files with him? This wasn't even the correct floor for filing.<p>

**"Attention. Doctor Haruno, you are needed in room 419 immediately. Doctor Haruno, room 419."**

Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. 'Oh, my gosh! That's Naruto's room!'

For the split second she stopped to think about what Naruto could possibly need from her, she looked back to see that Lucas was gone. It was extremely peculiar. This hallway was a long corridor without windows, and had only a few doors for small storage space as it led down to a service elevator. For some strange, unknown reason, Lucas was heading towards loading docks for heavy equipment or large shipments, since this floor held a large storage room for medical supplies. It also held a lab and medicine stock room, which was always under heavy guard. Why would he need to take the service elevator? Why was he even on this floor? And what files were in those folders he was carrying? And where is Tracy?

What plagued Sakura's mind the most, beside her dear friend Tracy, was how he escaped her line of sight so quickly. Sakura didn't even really turn away from Lucas. He just vanished in thin air. She would have heard a door open and close. But those were all locked, she was sure. And he was close to a hundred yards away from the service elevator at the end of the dead-end hallway. It was a very narrow hallway as she peered down it while trying to inconspicuously trail him, so there was no way he could have come back towards her and walked past her. A regular civilian would not have escaped her eyesight in a split second, anyhow. Who, or what, is Lucas?

Sakura rushed past a crowd of people in the hallway close to Naruto's hospital room as she rushed to be by his side. She was worried. He should not have still been here, unless he was locked in the padded room as punishment for being unruly and trying to destroy the hospital.

Sakura pushed the hospital room door open and saw Nurses Erika and Hannah, standing over Naruto. He was as pale as Sasuke. He looked as bad as Sasuke. He. . .must be poisoned, like Sasuke.

"Sakura, come join us!" Naruto shot up in a jolt, frightening Erika and Hannah. They screamed a little, very taken aback at Naruto's actions. "We were just going to go feed the giraffes at the zoo! Do you know what I want to be when I grow up? A koala bear! Oh, look! There's a bee on my arm! Argh, kill it!"

"Oh, my God!" Naruto scared the living daylights out of all three young women as he snatched Hannah's clipboard out of Nurse Hannah's hands. He yanked the pen off the clipboard. The chain snapped effortlessly, also cracking the heavy metal clipboard. It didn't bend - it cracked.

With all the commotion, Naruto's hospital room door flew open, and a couple of other nurses peered in, shock written all over their faces.

Naruto raised the pen to his arm, trying his best to concentrate on the imaginary bee. He reared his right arm back, ready to strike like he held a sacred and powerful sword. As he swung his right arm downwards, his momentum ceased completely, and the pen barely broke the skin. Naruto's body slumped over, unconscious.

"Well, Sakura. It looks like we have our work cut out for us, ne?" Lady Tsunade dropped the tube that connected Naruto's IV and saline bag into his arm. Out popped her needle, apparently which previously contained a heavy sedative.

* * *

><p>Upstairs in the trauma ward, Drs. Ogata and Matsuda were confounded as they stood over Sasuke's comatose body.<p>

"This isn't much like the Bastet plant at all, Ikku."

"No, but it may be a derivative of it. These chemicals match, and it is just too much of a coincidence for them to sync up like that. Someone, whoever concocted this, must know what they are doing. This was made for combat and attacks, like-"

"Biological and chemical weapons."

"Precisely. Do you have the reports?"

"Yes, they're right-" Dr. Ogata looked at the empty place on the table where several folders containing reports, sensitive information and personal notes were sitting.

"Morimasa, is everything alright? Where are the reports?"

"I. . .I don't know."

"What? Perhaps you took them back to the lab on our last trip up there and forgot to bring them with you."

"Perhaps. Let us go look."

"Okay. I need to take this blood sample straight there before I forget, too."

The two doctors mulled over different strands of poisons from the Bastet plant. Bastet is an ancient Egptian term meaning "devourer." Just as they both predicted, the poison's path took a turn for the worst imaginable path, even for such a strong ninja as Sasuke Uchiha.

As the doctors hopped out of the elevator, barely noticing a pink-haired doctor following a suspicious-looking male nurse, they hurriedly descended on the long corridor which took them towards the heavily guarded lab, they knew immediately that something was off.

"Hold on, Morimasa. Where is the shinobi guard that stands there? They never leave their post until they are dismissed by the next one on duty."

"I don't know. We should turn back now. Whatever it is, it isn't good."

Dr. Matsuda quickly traveled over to a wall phone to call down to the front desk, but instead pounded in the extension number for the Hokage's office. At this point, the front desk really couldn't do much to help. "Shizune, good morning. Please put Lady Tsunade on the line. She's here? Can you reach her on her phone, please? The hospital needs to be on high alert. I believe we may have an intruder in our village. We have reason to suspect-"

The line went dead. Overhead, the fluorescent lights flickered before they went off. By the time they came back on, the doctors were missing.

* * *

><p>"Tsunade-sama, what was that?" Sakura sat in the 4th floor's doctor's lounge, still startled from the disturbing display from earlier.<p>

Lady Tsunade had just gotten off the phone with Shizune. Her face was almost as pale as Naruto's and Sasuke's faces. "That was a moderate to severe hallucination. That come standard with the raging fever. It seems that was just an encore from what Sasuke experienced yesterday."

"But Naruto was thoroughly checked." All Sakura could think of was how the fever wasn't the only hot thing that was raging on Naruto. Like Sasuke's earlier meltdown yesterday, Naruto was found to have been sporting a raging hard-on, likely courtesy of the two female nurses aiding him. But that didn't explain Sasuke's from yesterday. . .

"Sakura, I am about to tell you something very alarming. But please, you must stay calm and remain calm and collected around everyone. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Sakura was very worried.

"It appears that our visitors from earlier are not at all friendly. We stumbled on a devious attack planned for Konoha. And it appears that they have chosen chemical weapons for their first attack."

"What? Who is attacking us?"

"It seems a new country quietly run by S-Class missing-nins and other seedy characters had quite a research project in their village. Their little science projects included the Bastet plant, the very poisonous plant the doctors discovered a while back."

"Yes, I remember." Sakura thought back to yesterday, when the doctors told her of their research and of how dangerous this new substance could be - even more lethal than Sasori's poison.

"It's almost concluded that this weapon was derived from the same plant. The doctors are working on a cure now. But the real problem is finding out how it is transmitted. But we do know of a flaw, which makes an attack with the poison easy but other ways of poisoning a little more tricky. The heart rate has to be sped up enough for the poison to take effect in a small way at first. The victim would only first experience disorientation and a bit of nausea; other than that, the poison had no other immediate side effects as it lies dormant, waiting until a little bit later to attack. It's a very intelligent concoction."

"Oh, my goodness. Do we know how to extract it all? It was replicating in Sasuke's body."

"Only because his heart rate increased dramatically, which apparently makes the poison regenerate, to a point. We extracted more than plenty of blood this last time, along with a blood transfusion. If Sasuke pulls through this latest bout, we don't believe he will have any more poison in his system. As soon at the doctors create antibodies needed to fight this poison like a vaccine-"

**"Lady Tsunade, you are needed in the lab. Lady Tsunade, you are needed in the lab."**

"Ah, there they are. I hope they found something important." Lady Tsunade turned to leave. But she turned around to address Sakura again. "The problem with both Naruto and Sasuke was that the poison was administered when their heart rates were elevated. Sasuke was obviously infected during battle. But Naruto was a little behind. He was attacked in this hospital, within the past couple of days. We are in full lockdown at the moment. Any new patients will be rerouted to a small private clinic on the other side of the village. No patients will be discharged until we find out what is going on."

Sakura gasped at the alarming news. "What is happening? Is the new village of missing-nin attacking our village right now?"

"I believe so. But we must do whatever we can to dispel panic and hysteria, as well as combat any terrorists. I need you to be on full guard, Sakura. I need to report to the lab and assist the doctors."

With that, Lady Tsunade turned around again and placed her hand on the door. But she barely turned her head to address Sakura once more.

"Well, Sakura. I do have one question for you."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura could barely pay attention. Her mind was reeling over the last bits of information.

"It was a bit obvious that Hannah and Erika caused Naruto's heart to speed up with their. . .ministrations, shall we say?"

"Huh?" Sakura remembered walking in just about ten minutes ago to see that Hannah and Erika were being their usual flirty ways with Naruto. Ugh, those troublesome girls. Whoa! That sounded like Shikamaru!

"But what puzzles me is what you did to Sasuke to make such a stoic guy's heart rate speed out of control?" With an impish smirk firmly planted on her face, Lady Tsunade rushed out of the doctor's lounge and headed to the elevators.

* * *

><p>Sasuke's eye peeked from a tiny opening he managed to work out from his heavy eyelid. Groggily, he groaned and tried to look around whatever room he now found himself in. Sasuke couldn't believe that this was the third time in the past few days that he woke up in a horrible, uncomfortable hospital bed. What the Hell is wrong with him? Can he not take care of himself anymore? What is going on?<p>

"Umm. . .mmn. . .h-hello?"

No answer. Sasuke was left alone in his hospital room. But this room looked a bit different. He had several tubes running into his arms, and he could see puncture marks from several blood samples taken from his body.

'Jesus, were they just experimenting on me like a damn cadaver in med school? I look like shit! As if the poison wasn't enough!'

Sasuke worked hard to gather his thoughts, trying to remember how he got here this time. Yesterday, he woke up with Sakura leaning over him. Why didn't that happen this time? But he did end up going home with her. Then it struck him. He was making out with Sakura. An they almost had sex right there in her living room.

'Wow. Sakura sure is the ever-caring doctor. She just gives and gives.' Sasuke smirked a weak little smirk, just thinking of how eager Sakura was to be with him. He still thought about how soft and silky Sakura's ivory skin felt underneath his rough and calloused hands. When she raked her smooth palms over his chest, it felt absolutely amazing.

"Ah! Dammit!" Sasuke could feel pressure on his chest. He had yet to figure out every time his heart rate sped up, the poison worked faster through his system. But at this point, he is lucky that there was not enough poison left in his blood stream to actually kill him. But no one said it would be pain-free.

Sakura walked in to Sasuke's hospital room in the trauma ward about an hour later. She was extremely surprised to find Sasuke sitting up, shirtless and basking in all the glory fluorescent hospital lights could allow him. But it was enough to impress.

"Oh! Sasuke. You-you're up. I mean, you're awake." Sakura clumsily stumbled over to his bedside, trying her best to maintain a little bit of composure, much less professional etiquette. "How are you feeling?"

"Hn." Sasuke looked up towards her towering form, then cast his eyes away. He couldn't help but think she was unbelievably alluring, even with her white lab coat on. His mind instantly clicked into Icha Icha Paradise role-playing situations.

'Great. We're back to his grunting and bad disposition. I suppose he didn't ant to pick up where we left off last night, after all.' "Did you take off the sensors?"

"Yes."

"Why? They were hooked up to the-"

"They were annoying, and I don't need them. I feel fine now."

Sakura knew it wouldn't be long until Sasuke recovered from his latest spell. But she also sensed that his chackra signature was almost nonexistent.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn."

"Can you do something for me?"

"Hn. . .huh?" Sasuke's eyes widened. 'She couldn't be thinking. . .'

"I need you to hit me."

"What! Are you joking?" 'Well, maybe she wasn't thinking.'

"I don't think you can do it. Just try it. All I need you to do is swing."

"Well, just a swing." Sasuke stood up, holding on to the bed railing for dear life. He didn't want Sakura to know that he couldn't spring back to full strength like he would have without poison in his system.

"Alright, Hercules. C'mon with it. This is just a strength endurance test-"

Sasuke swung, and his fist barely extended out enough to hit Sakura with full force of a regular civilian. To add to the embarrassment, Sasuke overexerted himself and he fell forward, hitting the tile hospital floor with a loud crash, taking out a metal tray and an assortment of loud, clanging objects with him.

"Oh, my gosh!" Sakura ran to his side and helped him stand back up. By the time Sasuke was standing upright again, he was leaning on the railing of his hospital bed. Sakura's hands were still holding his shoulders, holing she could help steady him.

"Are you okay?" Sakura tried to hold back her laughter. His chakra was going to take many, many hours to build back up. Until then, Sakura could take care of him. She was already thinking of all the ways she could take care o him right now. . .

"That. . ." Sasuke definitely overexerted himself, which showed as he was panting heavily. "That was a terrible idea, you sadist. Where. . .is my chakra?"

"Well, a side effect of the poison is that it suppresses your chakra. We extracted more than enough of the poison that your body should expel the rest in time."

"Days? Are you serious?"

"Sasuke. . .there's something else. Konoha is under attack. Naruto has been poisoned with the same deadly poison, but he was only infected yesterday or the day before. There is a traitor in Konoha, and I'm afraid they're in the hospital. Now, even."

"Holy shit. Now was a terrible time for me to lose my chakra. Have you informed Kakashi? We need the village on-"

"The hospital is on lockdown, actually. Tsunade-sama is in the lab with her poison experts, creating a cure. Naruto's in stable condition, and Tsunade-sama will be in there with him to administer whatever she needs to do to help him break the fever and extract the poison from his blood. He can have an emergency blood transfusion, like you did, if he needs it. We just have to wait this out-"

"What! I had a blood transfusion? When?"

Sakura's grip on his shoulders tightened as she tried to calm him down and comfort him. "Late last night. When we. . .well, when. . .you had a horrible fever, and you blacked out again. I found the poison had replicated in your bloodstream and was attacking your organs, like a virus or something."

"Holy shit." Sasuke looked down into Sakura's eyes. He had been trying to avoid her, attempting to retain a bit of dignity after his. . .inability to perform, shall we say, before he blacked out. But at least now he knew it was because of the poison.

"But now you seem to be doing okay." Sakura's throat ran dry. Her body temperature was rising quickly. Her heart began to beat faster. She thought she was going to faint. 'Oh, no! I haven't been infected by the poison, have I? Oh, gosh! I-'

Sasuke's lips crashed onto Sakura's with just as much passion as he mustered last night, if not more. Sakura immediately responded to the kiss, allowing Sasuke's mouth to ravish hers. Sasuke ran his hands down to Sakura's hips, letting her fall into his lap as he fell backwards onto the bed.

Sakura jumped backwards, confusing Sasuke and leaving him with the cutest disappointed face Sakura had ever seen. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Just gotta lock the door. No surprise visitors." Sakura made sure the deadbolt slid in all the way and the door wouldn't budge before she raced back over to Sasuke. He grabbed her by the hips yet again and dragged her back into his lap.

Sakura quickly noticed Lady Tsunade and Shizune had outfitted Sasuke in another pair of scrub pants. They were a plain and unattractive cream color, and were a bit translucent. Sakura could easily tell Sasuke wasn't wearing any boxers on underneath the thin material, since she quickly noted that she could see the outline of his crotch riding against it already.

"Eager, are we?"

"Well, I do believe we have some unfinished business." Sasuke's eyes lit up with fire and intensity, which made Sakura's blood boil.

Sakura let her lab coat fall to the ground, while Sasuke quickly worked through her buttons on her blouse. He succeeded in quickly disrobing Sakura's upper body with a quick flick of his wrist behind her, watching as her ample chest bounced out of her lacy white bra. Sasuke leaned up to take one rosy peak into his mouth, earning a moan from Sakura.

Sakura's head went haywire with sensations. She was still able to sit up enough to undo her zipper on the back of her skirt. While Sasuke was still busy at her chest, he reached down to her hips to pull her black skirt down to her knees. Sakura raised up in his lap even more, and was able to wiggle the skirt off into the floor with the rest of her clothing. Now Sasuke was still wearing his thin scrub pants, while Sakura was only in her thin white cotton panties.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Sakura?" Sasuke leaned back and looked into Sakura's eyes, parting with her only to make sure he wasn't taking advantage of the situation.

Sakura panted, letting out a small smirk. "You're not going soft on me, are you, Sasuke?" She rolled her hips onto his groin, relishing the manly and passionate grunt he let out. "I guess not."

Sasuke and Sakura spent the next few hours. . .examining each other's bodies.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Thanks for the reviews so far! They're fun to read, so please continue to review! Twice, if you want to! I don't mind!


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